Philadelphia Eagles Will Need Some Help to Win NFC East

By Bob Francis

Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Although at this point, atop the NFC East, the Philadelphia Eagles hold their own fate for making the playoffs, they’ll most likely need some help from teams playing their competition to help solidify their hold on the division. Both the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants will continue to pose a threat for the Eagles. With the upcoming schedule that Philadelphia will encounter after the bye week, they’ll need to see those two teams drop a game or two to help make it manageable to end the season in first place.

The Giants have the more difficult remainder to the season, still seeing the likes of the Seattle Seahawks and San Diego Chargers. The Seahawks remain one of the NFL’s best teams, leading the NFC West and dropping just one game on the season. Although the Chargers are in last place in the AFC West, they are a formidable opponent posting wins against both the Eagles and Cowboys. In addition, although the Seahawks will visit New York, the Giants will have to travel west to face the Chargers. These two matchups also don’t account for the fact that they must face a divisional opponent in the Washington Redskins twice and visit the Detroit Lions, who despite their ups and downs, are very capable offensively.

The Cowboys see a bit more manageable schedule between now and the end of the season seeing the Oakland Raiders and Chicago Bears, led by a second string quarterback. Their matchup with the Green Bay Packers may become the most intriguing chance for some help if Aaron Rodgers returns from injury before Week 15, when the teams meet. In addition, the Cowboys will still encounter each of the teams in the division before the season’s end, including the Eagles in the final game which could be set up for the division title.

Playing much better football, the Eagles are capable of running off a majority of the games remaining on their schedule, but getting some help will definitely provide them some breathing room and relieve a bit of the pressure moving forward.